customer research & personas
DESCRIPTION
This presentation reviews the different approaches to research and outlines how you can bring the personas out of static documents and into the on-going conversation about your customers within your organization with something called Listening Sessions.TRANSCRIPT
6.16.2014
Customer Research & Personas
Brian Winters @bwinters
WHAT WE’LL COVER Personas Overview
Research to Personas
Listening Sessions
A FEW QUESTIONS How well do you know your customers?
How do you use personas?
What is the value of personas to your organization?
P E R S O N A S O V E R V I E W
PERSONA VALUE
We talk to people to gain a better understanding of them, their context and what they need to accomplish their goals. The data we uncover feeds into our design decisions and uncovers new opportunities.
§ Common understanding of our users
§ Describes peoples’ goals and mental
models
§ Aids us in design decisions
§ Prioritizes features
§ Scenario-based
§ Rich stories with emotion = Empathy
§ Consensus builders
It’s not just about pain-points, it’s about insights
Forrester’s six criteria for personas
SIX CRITERIA 1. Does the persona sound like a real person?
2. Is the persona’s narrative compelling?
3. Does the persona call out key attributes and high-level goals?
4. Is the persona focused on establishing design decisions?
5. Is the persona usable?
6. Does the persona have appropriate production values?
Source: state of the art personas, jonathan browne – forrester research
A persona artifact is just one piece to understanding the customer
CHALLENGES
Persona documents are simply a snapshot
Personas can be easily forgotten
Empathy for the user is missing in the conversation
We know the persona detail, but can we speak for them?
Getting to the right data requires skill and practice
THE INGREDIENTS • Characteristics
• Interests
• Personality
• User Type
• Quotes
• Skills
• Knowledge
• Scenarios
• Relationships
• Emotions
• Goals
• Pain Points
• Frustrations
• Influences
• Technology
PROFILE CONTEXT OPPORTUNITY
Image
Name/Personal Info
Demographics
Scenario/Overview
Goals/Needs
Frustrations/Pain Points
Persona template
Common Activities/Scenarios
Attributes Snapshot
Transform your business
BIZ QUESTIONS What does it take to shift our culture to be more customer-centered?
Do we have a good story to tell of our customers and their experience with us?
How do people really use our products and why?
What’s the best way to beat our competitors?
R E S E A R C H F O R P E R S O N A S
RESEARCH TO PERSONA
Research Data:
• Quotes
• Pain Points/Needs
• Observations
• Insights
• Tasks
• Scenarios
Data Analysis
Finding Patterns:
• Affinity Clustering
• Relationships
• Emotions
• Behaviors
• Needs Identification
• Context Attributes
Develop Insights & Persona
• What does it mean?
• Follow-up research
• Storytelling
• Common Understanding
• Research, test, iterate
Synthesis
Overview
Generative research methods help us uncover people’s motivations, behaviors & attitudes, Through direct observation we discover context-of-use, and how people really do things. Value
This type of research drives innovation and yields insights to leapfrogging the competition.
Genera&ve Research
Evalua&ve Research
Preference Research
Data and Insights: › See how people are doing their work in
context. › Observe artifacts people use in their workflow.
› Observe work-arounds that show hidden needs.
› Discover details of relationships between people and departments where you can create value. › Understand the Why behind behaviors,
motivations and beliefs
Overview Evaluative research methods are used to validate current solutions, optimize the current experience, and improve business metrics. Value
This type of research yields incremental improvements to evolve an existing solution.
Data and Insights: › Find gaps in the flow of user tasks.
› Uncover improvements in content and labeling. › See how your current solution stacks up
against the competition.
› Validate design decisions for navigation, content organization and interactions.
› Usage statistics provide direction on potential areas for improvement.
Overview With preference research methods help we ask people to express their perceptions, opinions, beliefs about a product or service. Value
This type of research provides direction on where to go deeper with other research methods.
Data and Insights: › Find out if people like a design, branding and
the aesthetics. › Uncover what people like or dislike about the
experience they have with your solution.
› Capture quantitative feedback to uncover behavior trends and attitudes.
› Understand how people perceive the value of your solution.
RESEARCH TYPES
Genera&ve Research
Evalua&ve Research
Preference Research
METHOD SELECTION Find new ways to increase engagement with your customers.
Business Questions:
› How can we delight our customers? › How do we disrupt the market? › How do people really use our products?
Research Methods:
› Contextual Inquiry › Non-directed Interview › Ethnography › Customer Diary
Optimize the customer experience and your success metrics.
Business Questions:
› Can we increase our conversion rate? › Is our navigation helpful to our customers? › How do we stack up against competitors?
Research Methods:
› Usability or A/B Testing › Web Analytics › Card Sorting › Competitive Analysis
Understand customers’ opinions and preferences to improve adoption.
Business Questions:
› What do people think of my brand? › What do they want from my company? › What do people like about our products?
Research Methods:
› Surveys › Focus Groups › Customer Feedback Channels › Card Sorting
Where do you get good Persona Data?
PERSONA DATA Existing Research
Existing Customer Data
Customer Feedback Channels
Usability Research
In-Context Interviews
Good analysis is important to find the right data
ANALYSIS Know what you are looking for
Make sure data is complete
Look for unexpected patterns
Allow enough time to process data
Work in small groups
Turning your insights into a persona
SYNTHESIS No strict formula to persona design
Make it a story or conversation
Scenarios are important
Should be easily shared
Update frequently with new data
L I S T E N I N G S E S S I O N S
LISTENING SESSION Immersion in your customer’s experience
• Focus on listening Deep, active listening helps us uncover latent needs and unexpected insights.
• Facilitated Session Facilitate the analysis of what you are hearing from the customer to drive towards new ideas and uncover new ways to think about your solution.
• Real-Time You’ll walk away from every the sessions with insights that you can immediately apply to your project work.
• Active Participation Share with a broader group how to analyze usability research data, teaching your team how to think about the data and findings, for maximum impact on your designs.
TRADITIONAL
Interview questions & tips
NEW APPROACH
Active participation
The interview
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
The interview
COLLABORATION
The interview
EXPERT FACILITATION
The interview
ANALYSIS
Interview questions & tips
STORYTELLING
REQUIREMENTS
Listens between the lines
Bridges the gap between biz and user
Adept at teasing out the Why
Empathic Listener
Skilled researcher
Co-participation by stakeholders
Facilitation
Real Empathy
Structure & planning
Keys to success
Empathic listening
Merges perspectives to gain empathy
Illustrates motivations and goals
Focuses on experiences and not
product preferences
Uncovers the Why
Active participation
More minds, more better
Increases stakeholder buy-in
Teaches people how to listen
New way to collaborate
KEY INGREDIENTS How do You make it a success? Getting the most out of a Listening Session requires more than just a gathering of people with post-it notes. Approach, skill and preparation can make a difference.
Solid Plan & Structure Strong In-room Facilitator
Workspace & Support
Committed Stakeholders Adjust, Adjust, Adjust
Delay Solutions Talk
QUESTIONS?